Students awarded first NEXUS grants

November 22, 2013 |

A new grant program in Youngstown State University’s College of Creative Arts and Communication to encourage students across all of the college’s disciplines to engage in innovative research and creative projects has presented its first awards.

“This is a very important grant program for the college, and it allows us to capitalize on the fact that disciplines in the creative and communication arts are housed in one building,” said Bryan DePoy, CCAC dean.

“Students and faculty have reacted very positively, and we’re hopeful that it can possibly serve as a model for the creation of similar activities in the colleges across campus.”

The grant program, called NEXUS, was created this fall to foster collaboration among students in the four disciplines in CCAC – music, art, theater/dance and communication. Students can receive awards of up to $750 each. Proposals must include students representing at least two departments in the college.

Eight student proposals were submitted, a faculty committee recommended four and DePoy announced the four winners earlier this month at a ceremony in Bliss Gallery attended by about 50 students and faculty.

“It’s really about nurturing the creative entrepreneurialism in our college,” DePoy said. “Prospective employers will certainly appreciate the fact that our students value collaboration and problem-solve in a variety of spectra.”

“Tribunal Documentary,” by Catena Cane (Communication) and Amber Palmer (Theater), $750, is a short film about Tribunal, a play written by YSU graduate Mark Milo Kessler that made its premiere at YSU earlier this fall.

“Chopin’s Mazurkas” by Kathleen Gallagher, $550, is a short film featuring faculty performances of mazurkas, Polish folk dances.